When I think of outfitters, I think of an adventure. I think of a business that is going to prepare me to fishing, hunting, canoeing, horseback riding, camping, or something along those lines. Apparently my definition is accurate, but the broader definition of an outfitter, at least according to Wikipedia, is “a shop or person that sells men’s clothes.” I guess that makes Bonobos and Gilt Groupe my two favorite “outfitters.” It also means that Pittsburgh, PA based American Eagle Outfitters was accurately named, at least until they started selling women’s and children’s clothing in addition to their men’s line. Maybe that’s why use see them using AE much more often than AEO. I’m sure you recognize the clothes, and you probably have seen one of American Eagle Outfitters 950+ stores in the last shopping mall that you visited. Their brand is all over the place, so it’s hard to miss. Continue reading about American Eagle Outfitters…
You know how I know that I’m cool? I saw the Bed Intruder Song video (if you haven’t seen it yet, watch the original version first) on YouTube before you and pretty much everyone else who saw it. Pop culture fluency used to be based on your generation, but now it seems that it has more to do with when you last signed online. If you want to be as cool as I am, you may want to start using BuzzFeed. It’s a website and New York City based company that publishes and tracks viral media. They won’t tell you what’s hot this year or this week, but what’s hot right now this second. It may not seem all that important now, but when you’re out with your friends and they’re referencing the latest YouTube craze, you don’t want to have to sneak away to the bathroom to watch on your phone. Continue reading about BuzzFeed…
When I have a personal finance question, curiosity, or problem, I look to Ramit Sethi for help. His book I Will Teach You To Be Rich
I honestly can’t tell you when the last time that I picked up a newspaper was. It’s not that I’m sequestering myself from current events, it’s just that I do most of my media consumption online because it’s so easy. Obviously, attitudes like mine are causing a lot of distress in the newspaper industry, but I think there’s still a great business in delivering quality content. One area where online media kicks traditional media’s butt is in grabbing eyeballs. Sensationalism sells, and most newspapers still haven’t grasped that. However, tabloids, especially those based in New York, have always known how to get attention. That’s why there’s a good chance that I’ll pick up a copy of the New York Daily News if it’s sitting on a table at the coffee shop that my parents like to take me to back in Connecticut (where I’m headed this morning). It may not be the most reliable source for information or the most academic, but you have to love the fact that the New York Daily News understands the psychology of its readers and uses that knowledge to convince them to read. It doesn’t matter how great the writing is if nobody reads it. Continue reading about New York Daily News…
Today we’re going to start with a mind boggling fact. Half of human deaths since the stone age can be attributed to malaria. Half. Starvation, war, cancer, AIDS, and natural disasters have nothing on a tiny little parasite. Chances are that you grew up in a place without malaria. You may have used insect repellent, but was to avoid having an annoying buzz in your ear and a few itchy bumps on your arms or legs. It wasn’t a life or death situation. Unfortunately, in much of the world—especially Africa—a little bug bite can lead to your ultimate demise. Malaria remains one of the biggest problems that the human species faces with 250 million annual cases and 850,000 annual deaths. This costs African nations $12 billion in lost productivity ever year, while consuming 40% of all hospital expenditures. Malaria No More is a New York City based non-profit organization that believes that fighting malaria is “the best humanitarian investment” that can be made right now. They’ve only been around since 2006, but they’ve already done some great work to curb the damage done by malaria. Continue reading about Malaria No More…
Yesterday I was walking around in a variety/novelty/toy shop. It’s the typical vacation town toy store with all kinds of goofy stuff. As soon as I went through the door I regressed back to about 8 years old. I was picking up everything and playing with it—cap guns, balsa wood airplanes, and the avenging narwhal play set
Looking good is key to interviewing well. If you’re not confident in how you look, you won’t be confident in how you speak. Clothes matter. Luckily, dressing well doesn’t have to be expensive. We’ve worked out deals to get you $50 off your first order at Bonobos and free access to Gilt Groupe’s daily sample sales. You’ll look good, feel good, and still have some money left to celebrate landing a new internship.
As I mentioned a couple of days ago, I have quite a bit of traveling ahead of me. I’m hoping to spend a good portion of the time reading books, but I have to admit that I’ve been terrible about reading lately. Running a business makes it hard enough to find time to read, and when I do have time, it seems that my laptop makes it too easy to read articles and blog posts. I’m also torn about whether I should buy more hard copy books or invest in an e-reading device like an iPad or Kindle (it seems the Kindle is the winner for heavy readers). You’re probably thinking about how you don’t care about my reading habits, but they’re actually really important when looked at through the lens of a company like Hachette Book Group. If a big reader like me is reading fewer books, then they have some big challenges ahead of them. And that’s why the publishing industry is an exciting place to be right now. Hachette, which is headquartered in New York City, has a simple mission: “to publish great books well.” From 1837 when Little, Brown and Company was founded (they’re now part of Hachette), up until just a few years ago, the way they went about pursuing that mission didn’t change much. Lately, it’s been changing a lot. Continue reading about Hachette Book Group…
Been anywhere interesting this summer? I’ve already been to San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Napa, Denver, Northern Michigan, Boston, and I’ll be visiting Lake Tahoe, Colorado Springs, Northern Quebec, Connecticut, and New York City before the summer is over. Oddly enough, none of those destinations have been my choice. It’s always been someone else who has planned the trip. I guess that makes me useless for Development Counsellors International, a New York City based PR and Marketing firm that is “the leader in marketing places.” They obviously want to reach the decision makers, since they’re the people who drive economic development by choosing places to visit, invest in, or live in. If it has to do with economic development or tourism marketing, then it’s DCI’s specialty. Continue reading about Development Counsellors International…
It seems that most PR and Marketing firms are started by people who have been in the industry for years. They know their field well, but they may not fully understand the businesses of their clients. Upward Strategy is a little different. It is a New York City based digital strategy firm that helps “organizations chart and execute a powerful, results-driven product, communications and engagement strategy online.” Ok, that doesn’t sound all that unique. What’s different about Upward Strategy is that its ideas are born out of the entrepreneurial experience of the company’s founder and CEO, Rachel Sterne. She only graduated from NYU in 2005, but she’s already put together an impressive track record of entrepreneurship, and she’s even been named one of America’s Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs by BusinessWeek. It’s hard to tell whether there are any other employees at Upward Strategy besides Rachel—I couldn’t find any on LinkedIn—however, that’s about to change. Continue reading about Upward Strategy…
It’s been quite a while since we looked at internship in microfinance. I’m not sure whether the recession has had something to do with it, but it seems that there has been a lot less buzz about microfinance over the past year or two than there was in the preceding years. Maybe it’s just me. For those of you who don’t know what microfinance is, Wikipedia defines it as “the provision of financial services to low-income clients, including consumers and the self-employed, who traditionally lack access to banking and related services.” Put more simply, it’s the act of lending small amounts of investment capital to people who wouldn’t have been able to borrow money in the past. Microfinance is a great alternative to many other forms of aid, because it helps build economic foundations that respond to market incentives. MicroFinance Transparency is a Lancaster, PA based non-profit organization that is working to ensure that the field of microfinance stays true to its goals of helping to alleviate poverty. Because microfinance is unregulated and fragmented, MicroFinance Transparency acts as a watchdog that promotes transparency in the industry. Continue reading about MicroFinance Transparency…
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You know what One Day, One Internship is all about? It’s you, the audience. Maybe for you, it’s all about learning about cool companies, but for me it’s the fact that every day you bring these posts to life by researching the companies we feature and applying for their jobs. I love it when I get e-mails from employers telling me how excited they were about the surge of talented applicants that they got from being featured on One Day, One Internship. When it comes to the world of advertising, it’s kind of the same. It’s all about the audience. They’re the ones who see the ads, and then hopefully take the desired action—usually that means making a purchase. Collective is a New York City based media company that is entirely audience focused. They are “the leader in understanding and delivering audiences. With the premium inventory that attracts them. The innovative technology that delivers them. And the insights that define them.” By finding the “intersection of the right ad, targeted to the right person, in the right environment,” Collective is able to maximize the effectiveness of any advertising campaign. Continue reading about Collective…
Over the past year I’ve seen cancer do a lot of damage, and I know that I will see it do more damage as I move through life. Still, I believe by the time I’m starting to get old, cancer won’t be nearly as much of a worry as something else that we haven’t even heard of yet. It doesn’t seem all that long ago when most cancers seemed like a death sentence, but now the majority of cancers have strong treatment options. The problem with cancer treatment is that its short-term effects are often worse than those of the disease. The Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation is trying to change this. They are a New York City based non-profit organization that was started by thankful patients of an oncologist/hematologist whose name is, obviously, Samuel Waxman. The Foundation is “dedicated to supporting a focused research program to develop targeted cancer cell-specific therapies with minimal toxicity, such as differentiation therapy.” Continue reading about Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation…
I’m not a big t-shirt guy. Don’t get me wrong, I have a ton of t-shirts, but they’re usually ones that I somehow managed to get for free. For me a t-shirt isn’t a great way to make a statement, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t enjoy the statements that other people make across their chests. Anti-eco is a New York City based t-shirt company that is all about making statements. They are “lovers of social commentary, rational provocation and a thriving healthy planet,” so they poke fun at the environmentalist movement while actually supporting it. You’ll find t-shirts with sayings like “acid rain tastes like chicken,” “be organic. eat an organ,” and “global warming sounds comfy.” They certainly sound anti-eco, but then you see that they use organic cotton, water based inks, and certified responsible apparel production methods. How ironic! Continue reading about Anti-eco…
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You know what’s awesome? Having one of your restaurants on The S. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restauarants list. You know what’s even more awesome? Having two of your restaurants on the list. That’s the case for Thomas Keller Restaurant Group and its eponymous chef Thomas Keller. Per Se in New York City came in at #10, while The French Laundry in Yountville, CA came in at #32. Additionally Thomas Keller Restaurant Group owns and operates Bouchon Bistro, Bouchon Bakery, and Ad Hoc Restaurant (which are all in Yountville as well). I had the pleasure of dining at the latter for Brunch a few weeks ago, and it was fantastic (especially because we got dessert after breakfast in the form of fancy, but simple ice cream sandwiches). Thomas Keller is probably the biggest name in American fine dining, and he deserves it—he lives up to all the hype, which is hard to do when you have that much hype. Although each of Keller’s restaurants has a unique feel and purpose, they all share “the common desire to provide memorable experiences for every guest that visits.” Continue reading about Thomas Keller Restaurant Group…
Join the legion of One Day, One Internship readers who are showing up to their internships in Bonobos pants (or wearing their swim trunks to the beach on days off). Learn about Bonobos here and e-mail me for $50 off your first purchase.
I’m sure plenty of you intend to go to grad school in the future, or you’re considering it now that you’re realizing how tough the job market really is. I have absolutely no intention of going back to school because I’m enjoying learning by doing way too much. I also want nothing to do with standardized tests ever again. But if I was going to take a standardized test like the GMAT, I’d probably want to enroll myself in prep course (because my high school strategy of getting a good night’s sleep the night before the test can only take me so far). From what I’ve heard from friends, ManhattanGMAT is one of the best out there. They’re quite obviously based in New York City, but they have locations all across the country. ManhattanGMAT delivers success for their students by staying true to 3 core concepts: focus, superior curriculum, and real teachers (who scored in the 99th percentile on the GMAT). Continue reading about ManhattanGMAT…
Sometimes I get annoyed when I go to YouTube to watch a video and get forced to watch an ad or when a video overlay pops up on a site I want to visit. Then I remind myself how awesome it is that I get access to so much free content. As a content producer, I’m especially aware of how hard it is to make a profit off of quality content. I’m never going to bombard you with stuff that you’re not interested in, which is why we only take on sponsors who have awesome internships to offer or at least make sense for college students. I guess that means that we’re editorializing in our acceptance of advertising. ScanScout, which has offices in Boston, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Chicago, targets ads a bit differently. They’re a “technology-driven video ad network that delivers precise audience targeting and superior brand results by capturing and synthesizing billions of content and user interaction data points to match the right ad to the right video, at the right time.” That doesn’t mean that their video ads won’t annoy you, but at least they’ll be way less likely to annoy you—and might even interest you. The whole targeting process is automated, which is really impressive considering these aren’t contextually targeted text ads. Continue reading about ScanScout…
I never loved school, even though I was always pretty good at it. My classes just never really fulfilled my curiosity. Luckily, my parents were always putting me in exciting (and some not so exciting) after school activities. I had Frank’s Science Den where I’d learn all about cool science stuff like Van de Graaff generators and model rockets. I participated in Odyssey of the Mind where I put my early engineering skills to the test in a competition to see which team (or team’s parents to be more accurate) could build a balsa wood structure that held the most weight. There was Little League, which I loved, and soccer, which I didn’t love. I started playing the drums in 5th grade, and went to all kinds of camps over the summers (but never sleep away). Some of these activities were quite affordable, but others came with a pretty decent price tag. Fortunately, my parents had the resources to let me try all kinds of enrichment activities. Many children across our country aren’t so lucky. The only access they have to enrichment programs are those which are free, and the free ones often get overcrowded in a flash. Urban Enrichment is a new, New York City based non-profit that is making “it possible for elementary school students from low-income families to attend the high-quality artistic and athletic enrichment programs that already exist in New York City.” Continue reading about Urban Enrichment…
There aren’t a lot of things that I can do for 12 hours straight. I’m not even sure that I can sleep that long anymore unless I’m sick or completely sleep deprived. Yet for some people it’s a tradition to participate in or attend free twelve-hour music marathons. It all started in 1978 when a group of New Yorkers came “together to create their own performing arts center.” It became a movement and a non-profit organization called Symphony Space, which has been “embraced by its cultured and educated neighbors and become the centerpiece of the Upper West Side Renaissance.” Cultural institutions like community theaters can have wonderful effects on neighborhoods and their residents, so it should be no surprise that Symphony Space is still going strong and garnering tons of support 32 years later. Continue reading about Symphony Space…
One part of my morning routine to get these posts out to you is looking for the company’s logo. Usually I just snag it off of the company’s home page and that’s it. Occasionally I need to find a different version of the logo because it may have a weird background, the word beta written across it, or it may just be too small. The latter was the case today; however, I wasn’t able to find a more reasonably sized logo despite the fact that the company designs logos—in addition to many other things—and is named HUGE. The irony. HUGE is a Brooklyn, NY based company with offices in Los Angeles, London, and Stockholm that “helps build digitally-driven businesses.” What does that mean? It means that they work with some of the biggest brands in the world in areas like strategic planning, user experience, creative, interactive marketing, technology, and emerging platforms. With approximately 225 employees HUGE has designed and developed online experiences that drive 150 million monthly unique visitors and $12.3 billion in revenue. Continue reading about HUGE…
Yesterday we talked about how regenerative medicine is making it more and more likely that you’ll be able to heal from a stupid Fourth of July injury. Today we’re going to talk about a company that makes it super simple to make an appointment for a doctor (or dentist) to check out that injury that you’re embarrassed to tell anyone about. The company is called ZocDoc, and they’re based in New York City. They’ll not only help you find a doctor or dentist who specializes in what you need, but they’ll also allow you to make an appointment with just a few clicks. You can even check up on reviews of the doctor before you book him or her, and once you’ve had your appointment, you can add a review. ZocDoc has only rolled out in a few areas so far, so you can’t find any kind of doctor in any city or town, but I’m sure that’s in the plans once the business model gets rolling. Continue reading about ZocDoc…
I’ve been fascinated by the Internet since I got my first modem when I was in 4th or 5th grade. I knew that I was dealing with something special, but I had no idea how big it would get. What amazes me most now is how effective digital marketing has become. The Internet has truly changed the way our economy works, and it has allowed people like me to build businesses with no physical assets. It’s been fun growing up with the Internet, and I imagine the people at Flightpath kind of feel the same way. They’re a New York City based Digital Agency that was founded in 1994, so they started doing business right around the time I first signed on to eWorld. Since then they’ve been delivering “superior, high-impact digital solutions that drive long-term success for brands and organizations.” Continue reading about Flightpath…
Guys, need some great fitting pants to wear to an interview? Check out Bonobos! They make the best pants that I’ve ever worn (I have something like 12 pairs) and they’ll give you $50 off your first order. Just e-mail me at willy@onedayonejob.com, and I’ll send you the coupon code.
We’ve seen an explosion of startups that help small businesses reach new customers. There are Yext, Groupon, Yelp, and, of course, Google all serving this market in one way or another. But what about smaller, personal businesses? How do dog walkers, personal trainers, tutors, and handymen grow their businesses without relying solely on word of mouth? SkillSlate is one option. It’s a New York City based startup that helps individual service providers connect with customers. When you’re hiring someone to walk your dog or fix your door hinge, you want to know that they’re trustworthy. SkillSlate lets you check these people out and see what other customers are saying about them. It’s just like what Yelp does for restaurants. Continue reading about SkillSlate…
I was flipping through the June issue of Fast Company to take a look at their list of The 100 Most Creative People in Business (Lady Gaga is #1) because I figured it would probably lead me towards some new companies to feature. Oddly enough, the profile in magazine that caught my attention first wasn’t even from the list. It was a short profile of Geoff Vuleta, the CEO of New York City based Fahrenheit 212. He’s building a new type of consulting firm—one where IDEO meets McKinsey. He thinks that most innovation firms ignore the fact that the products and ideas that they create need to make money, and he thinks that traditional consulting firms rarely have ideas good enough to serve the markets that they so easily identify. Fahrenheit 212 focuses on helping major companies find new areas for growth—areas that will provide in excess of $100 million in new revenue. But what might be the most unique thing about Fahrenheit 212 is their business model. They only get paid if their ideas work, as they “put up to two thirds of [their] fees at risk, subject to hitting agreed commercial milestones on the initiative.” Continue reading about Fahrenheit 212…
Everybody acts like social media and social networking is a new development, but it really isn’t. Even 15 years ago there was a web service that enabled you to create profiles, connect with friends, engage with communities, and communicate instantly or asynchronously. It was called Aol, and there’s a good chance that you used it. I feel bad for Aol. They had it all. They were the behemoth of the social web before anyone knew what the social web was, but they were too big and not agile enough. They continued to act like an ISP, and their market share eroded as people transitioned to high-speed connections. Today most people think of Aol as irrelevant, but the NYC based company is doing their best to make a comeback. The good news is that they aren’t living in the past. They’re not trying to win at social networking or being an ISP—they’ve repositioned. They now describe themselves as “a leading-edge web services company, with an offering of premium and niche content sites, world-class tools and platforms.” The focus is on content, and in some ways that’s what Aol was always about—making great content easy to access for the masses. The tough thing for Aol is that they’re already a huge company, so they’re going to have to swing for the fences if they want their new business model to work. Continue reading about Aol…
Since college I’ve been fascinated by social sciences. Before then I didn’t realize that you could apply the scientific method to gain more understanding about nearly any topic in the world. Now that I spend lots of my time focused on things like marketing, career development, and writing, I know how important it can be to base your actions on research or the results of experiments. Obviously, social science goes far beyond those areas, and can have huge positive effects on many of the problems that are facing our world. That’s why the Brooklyn, NY based Social Science Research Council exists. Their mission is “to lead innovation in the social sciences, build interdisciplinary and international networks, mobilize knowledge on important public issues, and educate and train the next generation of social science researchers.” By supporting the field of social science, the SSRC helps all kinds of decision-makers make better informed choices about pressing issues. Continue reading about Social Science Research Council…
I have a good friend from Cornell who has been working in the world of education since he graduated with me in 2006. He often sends me recommendations of companies that I should feature, and I’ve actually covered quite a few of them. Earlier this week he sent me a note about Achievement First, a New Haven, CT based non-profit organization that manages charter schools across Connecticut and New York. (Sidenote: Having a friend like mine who is super-connected and aware in a particular industry or area can be huge for your job search.) Achievement First got its start in 1998 when a group of founders got together with the goal of creating a public charter school. They succeeded, and the result was Amistad Academy—and it’s been an amazing result. Over the past 7 years, Amistad Academy students have beat state averages in reading and math on the Connecticut Mastery Tests. In 2003 they built on this success by making Achievement First a separate entity to take the lessons learned from Amistad Academy and spread them throughout the region. Since then Achievement First “has grown into a network that includes 17 academies under nine charters in four cities.” Continue reading about Achievement First…
Since we’re talking about social media today, why don’t you Like Us on Facebook and Follow Us on Twitter.
It wasn’t all that long ago when having a URL in a tv commercial was a big deal. Companies were slowly moving to the web, and they were even slower to invest money in advertising their web presences. Now we see companies investing big money on properties that they don’t really own like Facebook pages and Twitter profiles. Would you build a house on property that you didn’t own? Me neither. But what if that house was in your dream location and it wasn’t all that expensive to build. Would it be worth it then? Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other social media sites offer unparalleled access to potential customers, but they also come with a lot of uncertainty. That hasn’t stopped many popular brands from investing big time in social media, and if they’re going to do it right, they should probably hire New York City based Buddy Media, a company that “provides brands, advertising, public relations agencies with a scalable set of tools to easily control all of their social marketing efforts.” Continue reading about Buddy Media…
Today’s company is one of the stranger ones that I’ve come across recently, but I guess that makes sense considering that their name is Quirky. They’re a New York City based product development startup meets social network. That’s right—they’re doing for products what Threadless did for t-shirts. You submit an idea (at a cost, which is weird), and the community decides whether they produce it or not. Everybody has a product idea, but how many people actually take the initiative (and have the ability) to have their idea turned into a real product? Not many. Quirky will do the hard work for you, and they’ll only produce ideas that have been validated by enough pre-sales to make the project worthwhile. Continue reading about Quirky…
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I feel as though I’ve been coming across a lot of innovation design firms lately. I guess it must be a growing field, which makes sense considering that design-focused companies like Apple are making a killing lately. Today we’re taking a look at Aruliden, a New York City based “brand strategy and product design consultancy formed by Rinat Aruh and Johan Liden in 2006 to bridge the gap between design and marketing.” They’re a small firm, but they make up for it by working with big name clients like Motorola, Jaguar, MINI Cooper, Microsoft, Starbucks, and Volkswagen. And not suprisingly, the work that Aruliden has done for these clients is just as impressive as the names of the clients. There’s the Motorola Sparrow and there’s retail strategy for Starbucks. Then there’s Areaware Clips and Scoot, Hydrogen Scooter. As you can see, Aruliden is always working on cool stuff. Continue reading about Aruliden…
When I decided to build Found Your Career, I pulled in Jason Seiden to tell the employer’s side of the story. He knows what it takes to succeed in the workplace, and he has a new book about just that called Super Staying Power: What You Need to Become Valuable and Resilient at Work
I don’t need to tell you all that the publishing industry has hit a rough spot. All you need to do is look around and see the iPads, Kindles, and Nooks. For hundreds of years the industry has used the same method delivery, but suddenly they’re losing control of how their content is distributed. This is really scary for a lot of people, but they’re forgetting something important: it’s all about the content. And the more targeted your content is to a specific audience, the better. The General Interest publication is a dying breed, and niche media is what it’s all about. F+W Media is a Cincinnati, OH based publisher that gets this. As they put it, F+W Media “offers the highest quality content in a wide variety of formats—from print to digital to video—to highly passionate enthusiast communities.” That’s a model for success that many in the publishing industry are scared of. Continue reading about F+W Media…
